Book Review: The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

 

Rating: 3.5⭐️

In 1985, ten-year-old Toussant Wright and his mother Ava are rendered homeless after Ava's husband Abemi threw them out of their home in New Jersey. Penniless and with nowhere to go, they eventually land in Philadelphia, where they are allotted a room in the Glenn Avenue Family Shelter. Forced to survive in the less-than-ideal living conditions of Room 813, Ava struggles to stay afloat and finds it difficult to secure employment despite having worked before she was married and Toussant finds it equally difficult to adjust to his new surroundings. Ava often shares stories of her childhood spent in Bonaparte, Alabama, with Toussant. Her mother, Duchess, who still lives there among friends, takes pride in her community, but her journey has not been an easy one. Times have changed, and many of her near and dear ones have left Bonaparte, but Duchess has stayed on and is fighting to protect their land from the clutches of corrupt land developers. Ava and Duchess are estranged, having drifted apart after Ava left Bonaparte hoping for a fresh start away from the memories of an unhappy childhood, but her life hasn’t turned out the way she had hoped. In the present day, Toussant’s biological father Cassius Wright re-enters her life she is quick to trust him. Cassius is a doctor and former Black Panther who now leads a cult-like commune “Ark” from a home on Ephraim Avenue, where he also runs an illegal health clinic. As the narrative progresses, it becomes evident that Cassius’ volatile temperament and controlling nature will change the trajectory of Toussant’s and Ava’s lives in a way neither of them had anticipated.

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis is a heartbreaking story. The story is presented through multiple perspectives woven together in a relatively slow-paced yet engaging narrative that revolves around themes of racial discrimination and segregation, poverty, homelessness, mental illness and generational trauma. Needless to say, this book is not an easy read. The characters are well thought out and though I would have liked certain aspects of the novel (such as the reasons behind the rift between Ava and Duchess) to have been explored further overall I felt that the author has done a remarkable job of depicting the dynamics between these complex characters. The prose is excellent and though I liked how the different threads of this story intersected, I did find the narrative a tad disjointed. I was left with several unanswered questions, and this detracted from my overall reading experience.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.